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Western Kenya
With the exception of the magnificent Masai Mara, Western Kenya is rarely visited by tourists and there are fewer hotels and lodges of international standard. On the plus side, the area is stunningly beautiful, culturally diverse and offers a real chance to explore the country away from the crowds.
MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE: Situated 390km (240 miles) from Nairobi in the southwest corner of the country, this reserve, owned by the local Masai Council, but operated as a national park by Kenya Wildlife Services, is a slice of Africa as seen by Hollywood (much of the film Out of Africa was shot here) – a vast rolling plain beneath the Oloololo escarpment that forms part of the vast Serengeti plains in neighbouring Tanzania. Each year, this is the spectacular setting for the great migration, the constant clockwise motion of an estimated two million wildebeeste and zebra who arrive in the Mara from late June onwards, heading south again in September. Continually harried by predators, thick columns of exhausted animals eventually converge at one spot on the Mara River and wait nervously to cross. A panic anywhere within the herd is transmitted flank-to-flank until it reaches those by the river, who fall 6m (20ft) into water already bloodied and bobbing with bloated carcasses. The inelegant beasts must swim past crocodiles, hippos and flapping vultures to join the sparse but growing herd on the other side. The stench is unimaginable and while it is undoubtedly fascinating, also requires a strong stomach to watch the immense distress.
During the migration season (July/August), the reserve’s resident lions lounge prominently in the sun, fat and seemingly placid, and apparently indifferent to tourists. Other animals to be seen, at any time of the year, include elephants, cheetahs, baboons, gazelles, giraffes, jackals, hyenas, water buffaloes, ostriches and several types of antelope. There are numerous lodges and tented camps both within the park and on its immediate borders. Mara Serena Lodge, Mara Sopa Lodge and Keekorok Lodge are the best known of the hotel-style properties. Governor’s Camp is the largest of the camps. For true luxury, try Bateleur’s Camp or Cottars 1920s Safari Camp. Most of the small lodges and camps have their own airstrips. A highlight for any visitor is the hot air balloon trips which operate from Governor’s Camp, Sarova Camp and Fig Tree Camp. Masai tribespeople live on the reserve’s fringes. They are very keen to sell traditional bead necklaces and decorated gourds to tourists, or to pose for tourist cameras in return for a fee.
LAKE VICTORIA: West of the Mara, on the Ugandan border, Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, a vast inland sea that is also the source of the fabled Nile River. Kisumu, Kenya’s fourth city, made its reputation as the inland end of the Lunatic Line railway and a trading centre with Tanzania and Uganda. These days, the lake steamer and trade have gone and the city struggles to survive on the few tourists who head over to the lake. Three islands, a little further south, near Homa Bay – Rusinga Island, Mfangano Island and Takawiri Island – have luxury lodges which provide excellent fishing and birdwatching. In the far south, tiny Ruma National Park (painfully reached by an appalling road) protects several rare species such as the roan antelope and Rothschild giraffe.
Inland Kisii is the centre of production for most of Kenya’s trademark pink and white soapstone, while the area around Kericho and the Nandi Hills is tea country, with vast estates flowing across rolling hills.
The Kakamega Forest Reserve is Kenya’s last surviving patch of primeval rainforest, a wonderful cool green cave of soaring trees and tangled vines, with hundreds of species of birds, around 60 of which are found nowhere else in the country.
THE NORTHWEST: The northwest of the country is largely agricultural, its steep hills patchworked by terraces and villages. The two main towns of Eldoret and Kitale act as jumping off points for many stunning scenic tours. The most important attraction in the region is Mount Elgon National Park, the Kenyan half of a giant forested volcano (4321m/14,178ft), famous for its mountain flora and fauna, its wonderful birdlife and for the elephants who scratch salt from the walls of Kitum Cave. To the north, the Cherengani Hills offer excellent mountain hiking and the tiny Saiwa Swamp National Park. To the east, bordering the Rift Valley, are the Tugen Hills and the dramatic escarpments of the Kerio Valley.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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